This invention relates to an adjustable and portable ball launching device. The device is particularly useful for producing line drives, pop flies, long flies, and ground balls to assist coaches in providing fielding practice for baseball and/or softball players. The ball launching device of the present invention may also be used as a pitching device for batting practice. Additionally, the invention may be applied to other sports for launching balls, such as footballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, and volleyballs.
As the popularity of baseball and other sports continues to increase on the junior and little-league level, the existence and nature of various ball launching devices has become more and more prevalent. Many of these devices, however, are complex, expensive, and essentially ineffective for use on this particular level of play.
Amateur coaches in youth leagues often find it difficult to properly instruct youngsters because of the limited resources and/or man-power available per team. Typically, one baseball coach is required to singly provide both batting practice and fielding practice to 10-20 players. This may become physically challenging for the coach, and often results in wasted time and player boredom. For some coaches, the inability to bat or pitch may create a virtually insurmountable obstacle to properly instructing the players in the art of hitting and fielding a baseball.
Thus, the present invention satisfies the long felt need of baseball teams and coaches by providing an effective fielding and batting instructional device which is both easy to operate and inexpensive. Unlike some devices of the prior art, the invention is light-weight and portable, and includes few component parts.